talk to me about built-in LP gennies...
Greetings, RV.net - been lurking a while and figured "high time" to try and ask a question I've not seen discussed, although I may be "search fu limited"... I'm looking at TC's to support my racing...
Forum Discussion
My old camper didn't come with a generator and I was initially disappointed. After dealing with the camper for a while I found that getting the two Honda 2000s was a better choice for me. The camper came prewired for the Onan unit which was optional, so that was a choice. However, I used to work for a small equipment repair place and my boss would only touch a certain few Onans that were mounted in campers. Kind of leads me to believe maintinence or problem solving could be an issue. Plus, it's stuck in the camper and they use a lot of propane comparatively.
Also, I have older horizontal propane tanks. A pain to get refilled because it's illegal unless I have them recertified. Then you've got the issue of vibration and noise.
I carry the Hondas right inside the camper with a five gallon gas can. When I get to where I'm going I move them outside and lock them to the truck. When they are running they aren't shaking the camper, the gas lasts longer than the propane would, they are fairly quiet when running the A/C, and if I have a maintinence issue there is a Honda dealer almost everywhere. I can use them separately from the camper as well. Cost for both and the cable to parallel them was about $2100 or so. Surprised that I haven't been kicking myself for spending that kind of money on them. I take a long time to recover from purchases like that.
Ask yourself what you'll use it for. If you need to kick it on to fire the coffee maker for a few mins or microwave a gas station burrito real quick then it may be an easier option for you to get a built in gen. If you're gonna run your A/C or you want to keep that coffee pot hot for a long time you're going to be burning a lot of fuel and (from what I've heard) dealing with noise. Also consider cost. What can you find a used one for? For $2100 you'll have a couple of Hondas that will probably last you a lifetime.
Also, I have older horizontal propane tanks. A pain to get refilled because it's illegal unless I have them recertified. Then you've got the issue of vibration and noise.
I carry the Hondas right inside the camper with a five gallon gas can. When I get to where I'm going I move them outside and lock them to the truck. When they are running they aren't shaking the camper, the gas lasts longer than the propane would, they are fairly quiet when running the A/C, and if I have a maintinence issue there is a Honda dealer almost everywhere. I can use them separately from the camper as well. Cost for both and the cable to parallel them was about $2100 or so. Surprised that I haven't been kicking myself for spending that kind of money on them. I take a long time to recover from purchases like that.
Ask yourself what you'll use it for. If you need to kick it on to fire the coffee maker for a few mins or microwave a gas station burrito real quick then it may be an easier option for you to get a built in gen. If you're gonna run your A/C or you want to keep that coffee pot hot for a long time you're going to be burning a lot of fuel and (from what I've heard) dealing with noise. Also consider cost. What can you find a used one for? For $2100 you'll have a couple of Hondas that will probably last you a lifetime.
